Mariah's First Boyfriend
by homesweethomicide13
Summary: Sometimes having a father like Barda has it's disadvantages... MariahBrooklyn, BardaLindal


**Title:** Mariah's First Boyfriend  
**Author:** homesweethomicide13  
**Rating:** T  
**Pairing:** Mariah x Brooklyn  
**Warnings:** Humour XD  
**Disclaimer:** If only…  
**Summary:** Sometimes, having a father like Barda has its disadvantages…

Mariah's First Boyfriend

"Barda, stop pacing." Lindal sighed for the umpteenth time that evening. She lifted her head from the book she was reading and gazed at her husband, who was indeed still pacing the length of the room. He had one hand in his pocket and the other was lifted to his face, resting against his mouth. His gaze was permanently on the floor, and he was frowning slightly. She lowered the book. "You're going to wear out the floor, and we just got new carpet." Still he continued to pace. "Oh for the love of… Barda, she's sixteen okay, she's a young woman now. She's allowed to be interested in boys." This got through to him, and he turned to look at her.

"No she's not! She's my little girl." He muttered, his voice failing slightly at the end of his sentence. He shoved his other hand into his other pocket and frowned further. "I won't have some… some… _boy_… laying his hands on my little girl." Lindal rolled her eyes.

"My father didn't complain when I first showed an interest in a boy." She murmured.

"That's because your father wasn't around when you met me." Barda joked, grinning slightly. Lindal rolled her eyes again. "But, back to the point… I just… I don't like thinking about it, you know? I mean, it's like it was only yesterday when I was pushing her on the swings and giving her rides on my shoulders…" Now Lindal stood up and went to him, putting her arms around him securely.

"It's something you have to learn to face, Barda. She's growing up." She said to him. After a moment, his arms circled around her and he sighed.

"I don't want her to." He pulled away again and turned, beginning to pace again. "I don't even know who this boy is. I swear, if he so much as _looks_ at her inappropriately, I'll break his legs."

"Barda!" Lindal hissed, shoving him gently. "Mariah will be meeting him here soon, and you need to support her, okay? She's going to want her father's approval."

"She'll get my approval, but I can't promise that he will." He grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. "And I _am_ going to want all the details of the night. I want to know if he needs to lose a limb or two." Deciding that arguing with him was going to get her nowhere, Lindal turned to more practical things and left the room to go and see if Mariah needed her help. Barda watched her go and scowled. He was not going to let this go. Flexing his fingers as though he was preparing for a fist-fight, he glanced at the clock on the wall. According to Mariah, her 'boyfriend' would be here at seven, and it was now half six. Half an hour until he'd arrive. He walked into the kitchen and opened the liquor cupboard. He knew it was dangerous, in case this boy really pissed him off, but he needed something to calm him. He took out the whiskey bottle and filled a small glass to the halfway mark. Putting the bottle away again, he sipped the whiskey. He could hear Mariah and Lindal upstairs, talking between themselves, but he couldn't hear solid words. It didn't help that Jay and Joeley were causing a small riot outside in their garden. They were wrestling with Liam whilst Kade and Divinity watched from the safety of the tree house. Despite it being two against one, seventeen-year-old Liam was easily winning against the two thirteen-year-old boys. Hearing footsteps on the landing, he went to the kitchen window and pounded his fist on it. Instantly, they all looked up.

"Get inside, Mariah's coming down!" He called to them. Instantly Kade and Divinity were descending from the tree house and Liam was marching towards the back door, one of the twins under each arm. Both were laughing and kicking at him playfully. He swept them through the door and dropped them onto the kitchen floor in a heap. Barda smiled as they scrambled over each other in an attempt to stand up. Liam turned and ran down towards the bottom of the garden, where Kade had just got to the bottom of the ladder to the tree house, Divinity standing beside him. He scooped both of them up in one arm and ran back to the house. Setting them more gently onto the floor, he straightened up and grinned at Barda.

"All delivered safely and in one piece, sir!" He said, holding up one hand to his head in a salute. Laughing, Barda reached out and ruffled Liam's hair.

"Good job, soldier. Now get moving!" He and Liam herded the two sets of twins into the lounge and made sure they were sat quietly – Jay and Joeley not so quietly – before seating themselves. As the door opened, Barda got to his feet and gaped at the young woman now entering the room. She didn't look like the Mariah he knew – the Mariah that dressed in baggy, ripped jeans and hooded jackets. This Mariah was dressed in slim, _feminine_ jeans that accentuated her long, slender legs, and a short-sleeved shirt with a puppy design on the front. Her long black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her ocean eyes were rimmed with eyeliner. Add her dazzling smile – which Lindal insisted she had got from him – and she was a very beautiful sight. She was no longer the little girl who loved to fight with her brothers in the mud. She was a beautiful young woman.

"Mariah…" He couldn't even speak. His throat closed up as emotion he tried so hard to keep back began to erupt within him. His little girl, his baby girl, had grown up.

"How do I look, daddy?" She asked him with a nervous smile. He crossed the room and pulled her into a hug.

"Beautiful, sweetheart, beautiful." He murmured. "He better be worth this." She pulled back and flashed him a grin.

"He is, trust me. I like him, and it would mean so much to me if you could at least _pretend_ to like him too." He absently ran a hand through her ponytail and smiled.

"I'll try."

The time seemed to rush by, and before Barda knew it, seven o'clock had rolled around and knocked upon the door. Quite literally. Mariah instantly jumped up and answered the door. For a moment Barda sat in silence, listening to the girly giggles and deep voice from the hallway. The voice was similar, and he knew he recognized it, but where from he couldn't place.

"Come on, you have to pass the test." Mariah laughed, walking back into the lounge and beckoning for her young man to follow. Barda stood up and watched him enter.

And his jaw almost dropped.

"Brooklyn?" It was true. Standing before him was the second-born child of his best friend Bobby-James. Brooklyn was the image of his father – right down to the unruly long fringe and choppy back, and the dark chocolate eyes. He was obviously nervous, even though he'd met him before. Of course, he hadn't been Mariah's boyfriend then.

"Hello, sir." He said quietly. Barda gave a nod of approval. "How are you this evening?" Another point for Brooklyn. A polite and respectful attitude was always good.

"I won't detail." He replied casually. "Brooklyn, I'm going to need to ask you some questions." Barda inwardly cringed. He hadn't meant for it to sound like an interrogation, even though that's technically what it was.

"Of course, sir."

"First of all, where are you taking my daughter tonight?"

"Well, after a brief discussion together, she agreed to let me take her down to the beach for an evening picnic, and then I'd hoped to take her on a short walk through the park, perhaps stop to look at the wildlife sector." Brooklyn replied honestly. Barda pondered this.

"Very well, that sounds acceptable. I do have one problem." Brooklyn's pulse quickened. "It's going to be dark when you embark on your walk."

"Oh, you have no need to worry sir. I shall protect Mariah with my life." He caught the look in Barda's eyes and paled. "And I c-can assure y-you that n-nothing of _that_ sort w-will be h-happening, s-sir."

"Good, I would expect nothing else." There was silence, in which Barda ignored the exasperated looks he was getting from both Mariah and Lindal. "And where do you see this relationship going?"

"Dad…" Mariah sighed, but Brooklyn seemed to have regained a smidgen of confidence.

"I plan to cherish every moment I am able to spend with Mariah, if it is to your allowance, sir. I hope that she and I will be able to be together for a long time."

"Do you love her?"

"Dad!"

"W-well, I… I don't know, sir… m-maybe…" Deciding that he'd tortured the boy for long enough, Barda switched from interrogation mode to overly protective father mode.

"Right. Well, before you set off on this _date_, there are some rules I'd like to lay down first." Mariah sighed again.

"Daddy…"

"Mariah, it is my duty as a father." He cut in. He turned back to Brooklyn. "Rule number one: you do not, at any point, make any sexual advances on my daughter. You touch her, I break your legs. You go to touch her, I break your legs. You think about it, I will also break your legs. Rule number two: no kissing. You do, and I break your legs. Rule number three: if my daughter returns with suspicious marks on any part of her body, I will hunt you down and break your legs. Rule number four: my daughter will be returned here at nine o'clock. If you are even a minute late, I will break your legs. Rule number five: alcohol is strictly forbidden. If my daughter returns with any in her system – and I know how to tell, believe me – I will break your legs. Twice. Rule number six: put my daughter in any danger, and I will personally see to it that there is not a single bone left in your body that _isn't_ broken." He allowed an intimidating smirk to cross his face. "Are we clear on those rules? If you want your legs to remain the way they are, I suggest you remember them. Bobby's son you may be, but it's _my_ daughter you're taking out."

"Yes sir!" He all but saluted.

"Good. Have fun sweetheart." He said to Mariah with a smile. She sighed and beckoned for Brooklyn to follow her. Barda stood in the doorway as they walked down the path to the street. At the bottom, Brooklyn went to take her hand. "I said no touching." Barda reminded him. Both turned, startled, but Barda was grinning. "Okay, okay, I'm kidding… just, no more than that."

"Bye daddy!" Mariah laughed slightly, slipping her hand into Brooklyn's, carrying their picnic basket in the other. Barda watched them until they were out of sight, and even then Lindal had to drag him back inside.

"Was all that really necessary?" She asked him. Liam laughed.

"I thought it was funny. Brooklyn's always trying to tell me how brave and strong he is, but he all but cried just now!"

"Yeah, but so do you when Dad's angry." Jay pointed out teasingly. Liam instantly scowled, crossing his arms over his chest like a child who couldn't get his own way. Jay sniggered.

"Dad's scary when he's angry." Liam muttered in his defence. This of course brought a smile to Barda's face.

"Not the first time I've heard it." He flicked back his hair from his face and the smile g grew to a grin. "Won't be the last."

When Mariah returned, with Brooklyn, with five minutes to spare, Barda smiled. He still had the intimidation factor, then. She stood on the doorstep for a moment, and Barda slyly watched from behind the lounge door. And so he saw the quick kiss the two shared – it was only a simple kiss, a quick touch of lips, but it was enough for him to extend his personal game. He marched out into the hall and jabbed a finger at Brooklyn.

"What did I tell you about kissing my daughter, Brooklyn?" He hissed.

"I'm s-sorry, s-sir! P-please don't h-hurt me." Barda almost laughed.

"Hmm, I do believe I said I was going to break your legs if you kissed her…" He pretended to ponder over something. "That _is_ a little extreme… very well. For your punishment, young man, you must take my daughter out to dinner sometime next week. Now go on, go home. Before I change my mind and decide to break your legs after all." He and Mariah watched him stride away quickly. Mariah turned to her father with eyebrows raised, a smile on her face.

"Some punishment." She murmured. Barda closed the front door, turned to her and grinned. He reached out and put a hand on one side of her face, gently stroked her cheek.

"I like him, sweetheart. He's a good catch." Grinning, she threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly. "I approve."

"Thank you daddy, I know tonight was hard for you." She pulled back again and smiled up at him. She wondered if she'd ever get to a stage where she _wouldn't_ have to look up at him. "I know it must seem like he's taking me away from you, but he isn't. I'm always going to be your little girl, daddy. I love you, and that's not going to change because of some… some _boy._" She giggled and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'm going to catch some sleep now. Goodnight daddy."

"Goodnight sweetheart." He watched her walk up the stairs with a smile. She always knew what was going on inside his head, no matter what. Lindal wandered out of the lounge – now very quiet since most of their children were asleep – and put an arm around his waist.

"Thank you." She said to him as she turned into him, burying her face in his neck. He circled an arm around her and smiled. "Your approval meant so much to her." She lifted her head and fixed him with a stern glare. "Thought I don't approve of the torture you put that poor boy through. I bet he was terrified to even _breathe_ on her." Barda grinned.

"Ah yes, but she's still my little girl." He paused and kissed her. "_Our_ little girl."

* * *

_Author's Note: I just couldn't help write this. Barda always seemed to be like a very protective father, especially with his 'little girl'. :)_


End file.
